It won't be long before we start to see again the e-scooters that were provided by the City of Wenatchee last year.

They were collected and stored for the winter, but the warmer temperatures may prompt the distributor to bring them out very soon.

City Public Works Director Rob Jammerman says the program has been a success with recreational riders and commuters.

"A few number of people use them for what we refer to as kind of a last mile of their commutes," Jammerman said. "So they might ride the scooter to their work or maybe they need to run errands at lunch and they don't have a car."

Jammerman is scheduled to go before the city council Thursday night to ask for a contract extension with Bird Scooters.

"We're proposing to extend their one year agreement. Their agreement expires in April of this year. And Bird has asked to extend that for an additional year under the same terms of the agreement that City Council approved April 2022."

Last year, the city deployed 80-100 e-scooters beginning the week of May 16th. They offer a number of features including activation through a mobile app and a 50% discount for low-income riders, Pell grant recipients, select local nonprofit and community organizations, veterans and senior citizens.

Bird offers free rides to healthcare workers and emergency personnel. Those who qualify can sign up by emailing a copy of their medical identification card, name and phone number to together@bird.co. Eligible riders receive two free 30-minute rides per day.

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